Dying woman to visit Vatican after crowdfunding campaign

A woman is to have her last wish to visit the Vatican fulfilled after a fundraising campaign run by her family.

Darren Barber, 43, set up an online page entitled Help With Corinne’s Final Wish for his sister, who has a complex congenital heart disorder and who he said has a life expectancy of five to 12 months.

With the opportunity of being able to meet the Pope it promises to truly be a spiritual journey of a lifetime

Corinne Barber

About £8,500 has been raised since he created the GoFundMe campaign three months ago - enough to ensure Corinne Barber, 42, from Edinburgh, will travel this weekend.

An audience with Pope Francis has also been granted after the campaign attracted the support of Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Leo Cushley, who has also made sure the insurance fees of the trip are covered.

It was feared it would be impossible to achieve her “lifelong dream” after her heart condition left her too sick to fly and costs started mounting. But donations from well-wishers across the world flooded in.

Mr Barber, from North Berwick in East Lothian, said he was “absolutely ecstatic” the journey was now going to happen.

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity shown by people who have supported our GoFundMe campaign and Corinne has been elated by the way people have connected with her,” he added.